Veteran journalist Dan Rather sharply criticized Paramount Global — the parent company of CBS News — on Wednesday for agreeing to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump’s administration, calling the move a betrayal of journalistic integrity.
“It’s a sad day for journalism,” Rather said in an interview with Variety. “It’s a sad day for 60 Minutes and CBS News.”
The settlement stems from Trump’s lawsuit filed last fall, which accused CBS and its flagship program 60 Minutes of airing a “deceptively edited” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent in the 2024 election. The lawsuit alleged the segment amounted to partisan interference and sought damages for what the Trump team called “unlawful media manipulation.”
Despite widespread criticism of the suit and skepticism about its legal merit, Paramount Global chose to settle for $16 million — money that will reportedly be earmarked for Trump’s future presidential library, not for his personal use.
Rather, who anchored CBS Evening News for 24 years and was a longtime 60 Minutes correspondent, said the decision represented corporate capitulation under political pressure.
“Paramount didn’t have to settle,” he said. “You settle when you’ve done something wrong. 60 Minutes followed standard journalistic practices. Every major legal analyst said this case wouldn’t hold up in court.”
He added: “This was distortion by the president and a kneeling down and saying, ‘yes, sir,’ by billionaire corporate owners.”
The timing of the settlement raised eyebrows, as Paramount is currently pursuing a proposed $8 billion merger with Skydance Media — a deal that requires regulatory approval from the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission. Critics, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), had warned that the lawsuit could be used as leverage over the media conglomerate.
“I was disappointed, but I wasn’t surprised,” Rather said. “Billionaire businesspeople make decisions based on money. You’d hope they might make an exception for press freedom — but that’s not how this played out.”
Rather, reflecting on his six-decade career in journalism, said the current political environment represents the most intense pressure the media has ever faced — and he sees a growing trend of powerful institutions backing down to Trump.
“Law firms, universities — they’re kneeling the same way Paramount just did,” he said. “Trump knew that if he kept pressing, they’d cave. And now, a major news organization is paying millions of dollars for exercising its First Amendment rights.”
In closing, Rather didn’t mince words: “What we witnessed today wasn’t a settlement. It was a sell-out to extortion by the president.”
